Nikki Simpson at International Magazine Centre gave me a fabulous brief for this illustration. Delivered, as the best things are, over coffee and cake!

Love working with Nikki, and this sort of relationship gives illustrators the chance to do their most effective work. A sense of purpose, the friendly exchange of ideas, and the trust of an infectiously enthusiastic client who encourages creative freedom within a framework.

A reminder that career paths often (usually?) take unexpected twists.

Tomorrow there’s a reunion for Business a.m., a daily newspaper where I worked as a designer in the early 2000s.

I was mainly setting ads – I’d just been made redundant and grabbed the first job that came along. It was fast paced and at times horribly stressful – ill suited to a dyspraxic brain that likes to hyperfocus. And a huge culture shock in comparison to the more gentle heritage sector where I'd loved working as a designer for exhibitions and guidebooks.

But the newspaper was beautifully designed, winning numerous awards for its bold typography and attention-grabbing layouts in elegant shades of teal and rust on pink paper. We had a fantastic art director (Hello Mike!) and every now again I got to flex my creative muscles with a fabulous advertising feature or a brand extension like this directory.

Last week I was blown away by Andy Goldsworthy’s Fifty Years exhibition in Edinburgh.

Art made from stone, reeds, coloured leaves. An immense Oak Passage formed by windfallen branches, leading the eye to a wall of ferns, pinned with thorns into a snaking pattern. Sheep Paintings (yes!) made from muddy hooves around a salt lick. A Fallen Elm photographed over many years, its cracks and twists embellished fleetingly with fallen leaves, snow, foxglove petals...

Boxing Day vibes in my little city today.

Every August Edinburgh hosts the world’s biggest arts festival. And today it’s over, our spot at the heart of the creative world gone for another year.

But all that fizzing creativity leaves its mark. Noise, crowds, talent, belly laughs, drama, big ideas.